Chuck Howe was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1931. The family,

which included younger son John, moved to Westerville, Ohio in

1937.

At the conclusion of World War II, the family moved to Joplin,

Missouri. Chuck graduated from Joplin High in 1948 where he

met his future wife, JoAnne Blanke. He attended Rice University

(then Rice Institute) from 1948 to 1952, majoring in Economics

and graduating Phi Beta Kappa and one of ten Outstanding

Seniors chosen by a faculty-student board.

At graduation, he was Commissioned Ensign in the U.S.

Navy, stationed in Long Beach, California, but returned briefly to

Joplin to marry JoAnne who then accompanied him to Long

Beach where Chuck’s ship, minesweeper U.S.S. Redstart, was

stationed. The honeymoon was short-lived since Chuck’s ship

departed for Korea in December, 1952, returning to the U.S. in

June, 1954.

Chuck enrolled in the Economics Ph.D. program at Stanford,

receiving the degree in 1958. With two children added, they

moved to Purdue University where Chuck was Assistant

Professor of Economics in the emerging Krannert School of

Management where he taught Management Science.

At that time, Chuck also began research in the water

resources field, producing a book on the Economics of Inland

Waterway Transportation that was published by Resources for the

Future in Washington, D.C. In 1964, JoAnne, Chuck, and now

four children, took a temporary post at the University of East

Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, sponsored by the Rockefeller

Foundation’s University Development Program to help build the

program in Economics. Chuck continued water research with

management studies of the Tana River Basin in northeastern

Kenya.

On the basis of Chuck’s water research, he was invited in

1965 to join the staff of Resources for the Future as Director of

the Water Resources Program. The family moved to D.C. where

they lived until 1970 when Chuck was appointed Professor of

Economics at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Chuck was appointed a Fellow of the American Geophysical

Union in 1973 based on his water research and a Fellow of the

Association of Environmental and Resource Economists in 2012.

He was the principal author of the 2007 Report of the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was awarded

the Nobel Peace Prize.

Chuck and JoAnne, with whatever children were at home or

able, continued to travel, both for work and for pleasure. They

lived in Indonesia, Holland, and England, and traveled more to

countries on every continent.

Chuck was an avid runner, having competed in more than 30

Bolder Boulder (10K) races as well as several Crescent City

Classics in New Orleans. While in Indonesia he was part of the

Hash House Harriers running group.

After this accomplished career, Chuck and JoAnne retired to

Frasier Meadows Retirement Community in Boulder, where they

became a valued part of that community for over 20 years. Chuck

died March 3, 2024, and is survived by his wife of 71 years;

children John, Karen, Bo (Conway), and Kathy (Larry); seven

grandchildren: Theron, Sarah, John, Ray, Morgan, Lauren, Luke;

and one great-grandchild, Addison.

The family extends special thanks to all the staff of the

Summit Care Center at Frasier for their devoted and loving care in

the last year of Chuck’s life. Their dedication is remarkable.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Frasier

Meadows Retirement Community. There will be a Celebration of

Life on Friday, April 12 at 2:30 in the Eldorado Room at Frasier.

All are welcome.